The inventive concept relates to a flash memory device and a programming method performed in the same, and more particularly, to a flash memory device in which the number of bits stored in each memory cell exceeds the designed memory cell bit capacity of the flash memory device.
A flash memory device is a nonvolatile memory which maintains stored data even in the absence of applied power. The flash memory device, which can be utilized for mass data storage and even code storage, is commonly adopted in mobile devices such as cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDA), digital cameras, portable game consoles, and Moving Picture Experts Group-3 players (MP3P). Flash memory is also commonly found in non-mobile home applications including high definition televisions (HDTV), digital versatile disc (DVD), routers, personal computers, and global positioning systems (GPS).